Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals. Note: Federal employees with permanent status or individuals eligible for special appointing authorities may also apply to Job Announcement # 23R-308777-ID-NASM-MPA. More than one selection may be made from this announcement.

As an Archivist, you will:

• Be responsible for the performance of a variety of duties that require many different and unrelated processes and methods relating to established standards of the archival field.  Includes: decisions regarding needs assessment and best practices to preserve, conserve and provide access to archival collections and related digital content, variations in approach and incomplete or conflicting data.
• Conduct research to improve the quality and efficiency of archival preservation and access , including  assisting with and ensuring intellectual and physical control of archival collections and digitized content.
• Assist visiting researchers using archival materials in the reference rooms and prepare written responses to patrons regarding the archival collections.
• Collaborate with Archives staff to continue to develop and update workflows and guidance for archival and digital surrogate records workflows to allow for accessibility to the widest extent possible and participate in pan-Institutional and external initiatives to advance the stewardship of digital cultural heritage and scientific and historical research data at the Institution and in the larger professional community.

Conditions of employment

• Pass Pre-employment Background Investigation
• May need to complete a Probationary Period
• Maintain a Bank Account for Direct Deposit/Electronic Transfer
• Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered with Selective Service.

Conditions of Employment

COVID-19 VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS:

For the latest information on the COVID-19 vaccination requirements and its impact on your application, click on Smithsonian Institution’s Frequently Asked Questions. 

Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions on OPM website.

Position requires periods of standing, walking, bending, stretching and reaching.  Must be able to lift, carry and transport containers of up to 40 pounds.  Must be able to safely climb a ladder.

Qualifications

In addition to meeting the basic requirements above applicants must also must meet the following minimum qualifications:

Specialized Experience:

Grade 11: You qualify for this position if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service or comparable pay band system.

For this position specialized experience is defined as: Experience includes processing and digitizing archival collections, cataloguing and formatting collections in computerized databases or digital asset management systems and conducting archival research to validate, update and correct existing collections data.  Knowledge of archival processing tools and cataloging standards.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Education: 

1. Bachelor's degree in archival science or bachelor's degree with a major that includes 18 semester hours in archival science, history and/or in political science or government, and 12 semester hours in one or any combination of the following: archival science, history, American civilization, economics, political science, public administration, or government.

or

1. Combination of education and experience - at least 30 semester hours that included courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education

Education and experience may be combined to meet the basic qualifications. For a full explanation of this option please see the Qualification Standards. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study.  

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants for this position may be evaluated in multiple stages. The first stage is an evaluation of your responses to the online multiple-choice questions that assess your experience, education, and/or training for the job related competencies below:

• Knowledge of basic archival principles, methodology, digital preservation and historical research methods to appraise, access, arrange and describe, store and preserve records and historic documents, bringing logical order to the material by creating a distinct and functional accessible archive with finding aids
• Knowledge and skill in digital preservation risk management principles to proactively identify current and future risks, and knowledge of best practices to preserve and promote access to Archives collections and digital content according to archival, digital preservation and international standards
• Must have good oral and written communication skills in order to provide guidance, research and reference service promptly and effectively to staff, scholars and members of the public as they pertain to the use and access of both traditional and digital collections
• Communicate archival and digital surrogate disposition and preservation needs and best practices through written presentations, educational programming and/or specially funded projects that advance the awareness and skills of the NASM Staff.

• Best Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and excels in most of the job related competencies above.
• Better Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements and satisfies most of the job related competencies above.
• Good Category - Meets the minimum qualification requirements, but does not satisfy most of the job related competencies above to a substantive degree.

This category rating process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three", but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Category) provided no preference eligible in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible in that category unless the requirements of 5 U.S.C. 3317(b) or 3318(b) are satisfied. Preference eligibles who meet minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level or higher. Applicants who have not submitted a resume in the USAJOBS system and/or have not answered all of the vacancy questions will not be considered for this position. 

Important Note: Your resume and supporting documentation will be compared to your responses to the occupational questionnaire or other assessment tool for consistency. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your resume, you will be assigned a rating commensurate to your described experience. Your resume should provide sufficient information regarding how your education and experience relate to this position, including the major duties and qualifications criteria listed.